This invention is directed to the field of semi-rigid or hybrid, lighter-than-air airships, of the kind that can deliver and disperse quantities of a liquid, such as water or other fire suppressant materials to forest fires, for example, rain of water to a draught area or other disaster area.
The present invention relates to a lighter-than-air, airship, or rapid deployment hybrid platform system that offers particular utility as a fire control vehicle to dispense large quantities of water, i.e. man made rain, or other fire suppressant materials over out-of-control fire areas. However, the system hereof is sufficiently versatile to use over other types of disaster areas. Notwithstanding the broad uses available to the system, the further description will be directed to its use in fighting forest fires. As has become all to common for many areas of the world, vast and furious forest fires are an unfortunate fact of life for many people, especially in the western states of the United States.
Forest fires are presently controlled by ground personnel using backfires and fire breaks, and by air drops of fire-fighting materials from helicopters and fixed wing airplanes. These methods put large numbers of personnel at risk and the payloads of fire-fighting aircraft are very small. The air drops are high impact, which are a danger to ground personnel and particularly inefficient because they are so concentrated. They are the equivalent of dropping a pail of water on a stadium fire.
A number of the different airborne types of fire fighting apparatus are illustrated and described in the following U.S. Patents:
a.) U.S. Pat. No. 3,710,868, to Chadwick, teaches a bucket, for suspension from the cargo hook of a helicopter, where the bucket is provided with a plurality of valves and valve actuating means presenting a low profile and compact construction. The valve actuating means depend from arms extending inwardly from the bucket sides.
b.) U.S. Pat. No. 3,828,857, to Mason, relates to a container which may be filled by immersing the lower portion thereof into a fluid and allowing the fluid to enter the container through a main valve and a number of one-way secondary valves in this lower portion. The main valve is connected to a float which closes the valve when a predetermined level of fluid has entered the container. The secondary valves are closed by the action of the fluid when the container is raised from the reservoir of fluid. The main valve is held closed by a latch mechanism which may be tripped from a remote station allowing the valve to open and discharge the fluid from the container.
c.) U.S. Pat. No. 3,897,829, to Eason, describes an airborne fire suppression unit adaptable for installation on an aircraft, particularly, a helicopter, for fighting fires in locations inaccessible to other types of fire fighting equipment. The fire suppression unit comprises a fluid reservoir tank mountable on the floor within the aircraft body, a boom assembly having a nozzle mounted thereon adaptable for coupling with the reservoir tank and a motor-driven pump for directing fluid under pressure from the tank to the nozzle, all adapted for rapid detachable mounting to the aircraft. The boom assembly is mountable so as to extend the nozzle laterally from the aircraft, and is rotatably connected at its mounting point so as to reciprocate laterally with respect to the aircraft. The nozzle is pivotally secured to the extended end of the bottom to reciprocate in a substantially vertical plane. Manually powered control means, operable from within the aircraft to regulate the position of the boom assembly and nozzle, respectively, are provided. A suction conduit coupled with the pump inlet port and adaptable to extend from the helicopter into a body of fluid is provided to permit rapid refilling of the reservoir tank while a fire is in progress. Selectable valve means coupling the pump with the nozzle, tank and suction conduit, respectively, permit the pump to direct fluid either from the tank to the nozzle for fire-fighting purposes, or from the suction conduit to the tank for refilling purposes, or alternatively recirculate the fluid through the tank when neither the nozzle nor suction conduit are being utilized.
d.) U.S. Pat. No. 4,344,489, to Bonaparte, is directed to a forest fire extinguishing device comprising a projectile filled with an inert gas under pressure which is dropped into a fire and automatically disperses the gas. When the device impacts the ground, a plurality of ports are simultaneously opened, allowing the fire extinguishing material to be expelled over a prescribed area.
e.) U.S. Pat. No. 4,936,389, to MacDonald et al., teaches a fluid dispensing system for an aircraft. The system, between the open and closed positions, includes a bottom door panel controlling release of fluid from an airborne container containing the fluid, and is governed by both the height of the fluid in the container and the instantaneous position of the door panel.
f.) U.S. Pat. No. 4,979,571, to MacDonald, relates to an apparatus for producing a delayed foaming action in mixed liquids useful as suppressants for fire area control and curtailment of chemical spills. The apparatus is self-powered and sized to be transported to a target area by a variety of land and sea vehicles as delivery platforms. The apparatus is particularly designed for airborne delivery and is especially adaptable to helicopter applications.
g.) U.S. Pat. No. 5,590,717, to McBay et al., describes a fire extinguishing capsule for the cooling and quenching of destructive fires. The fire extinguishing capsule comprises two double-walled hemishapes which are sealed together by an equatorial belt seal which may be ruptured in order to disperse the extinguishing in the capsule. The capsule may be suspended from a hook and ladder system, for example, a helicopter in the case of forest fires, oil well fires, or transported by sled to a fire scene.
h.) U.S. Pat. No. 4,009,850, to Hickey, covers airships for transporting liquid that includes storage tanks located midship with their inlet conduits opening through the forward part of an upper deck enabling the tanks to be filled while the airship is moored to a special tower. The tank contents are discharged through outlet conduits that are lowered to the receiver station. Where different liquids are to be carried, the tanks are arranged to minimize ballasting problems during loading and unloading.
i.) U.S. Pat. No. 1,609,762, to Morgan, relates to a system for extinguishing fires that includes the combination of a dirigible balloon and a water tank supported by the balloon and transported therewith. The water tank includes means whereby it may be filled either through a pump operated by a motor, or by dipping into a vessel of water and allowing the tanks to fill as the system travels forward.
It is clear from the foregoing prior art that the preferred modes of fighting fires from aircraft type systems are limited to helicopters and fixed wing airplanes, all of which are heavier-than-air. Though the latter two patents teach the use of a dirigible type system, the present invention represents a dramatic departure from the traditional modes by the use of hybrid platform aircraft systems that are known for their many flying characteristics, such as vertical take off and landing (VTOL), and/or running vertical take off and landing (R-VTOL), and/or super take off as landing (S-STOL) capabilities, derived through their unique shape and design, and thus their different lift principles. U.S. Pat. No. 5,823,468to Bothe, illustrates a recent development in the area of hybrid aircraft. Heretofore, one problem related to LTA was the lack of speed and its inherent limitations. Hybrid aircraft systems were thus developed to overcome this speed deficiency, as discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,591,112, et al. Further efforts to improve the performance of hybrid airships resulted in the design of partially buoyant airships which derive some limited lift from their hull shape, see U.S. Pat. No. 4,052,025, to Clark et al. Still another effort in this area is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,149,688, to Miller, Jr.
Returning to the development by Bothe, the patentee teaches a hybrid aircraft that is intended for passenger and cargo use. The system thereof has VTOL, R-VTOL and S-STOL capabilities. The aircraft has lifting body hull and four wing sections arranged in tandem which are pivotally moveable about their neutral axis. Each wing section has mounted thereon a pivotal propeller-rotor assembly for providing thrust substantially in a range between horizontal and vertical. The wings and propellers are integrated to the hull by an outrigger designed to be very stiff and to distribute forces from the wings and propellers to the hull. The hull is shaped to provide aerodynamic lift in an airstream and to facilitate construction by minimizing the number of panels of differing curvature required. As an alternative, the patent teaches that plural high speed fans may be used in place of the propeller-rotors. Though the latter group of patents describe details of a hybrid aircraft, where such details are incorporated herein by reference, they fail to teach a hybrid system having the means for the continuous 24 hour supply of fire suppressing material, such as water, to virtually provide for a man made or artificial rain over the raging fire, particularly in remote areas where ground vehicles cannot reach the fire scene. The manner by which the present invention these goals to fruition will become more apparent in the description which follows, especially when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
This invention relates to a [lighter-than-air] hybrid airship, platform system for dispensing large quantities of liquid in flight and hovering modes, preferably a rapidly deployment hybrid platform system that is shaped to provide aerodynamic lift in an air stream, and has particular utility for fire control of fires where ground personnel may be in danger, or where access by vehicles may be limited. The system hereof also has utility in providing drought or fire control for both man made and natural disasters. Further, It should be noted that the system hereof has applicable uses other than fire control, such as fertilizing large fields, insect spraying along coastal or swampy regions, irrigation, air quality measurement and monitoring, and aerial seeding and reforestation. Notwithstanding the above, fire control remains the primary application of the system, hence the further description will be so limited for convenience and understanding.
The system of the invention comprises a hybrid airship, platform system formed of a semi-rigid keel or skeleton within which helium is contained as one of the lifting forces for the airship, where the balance of lift is achieved by its shape which provides aerodynamic lift in an air stream. Externally, the airship features a pilot cabin, plural engines fans, and stabilizing means for controlling the steering and hovering of the airship. In the preferred embodiment, the airship system includes at least a single liquid storage and related distribution mechanism, including an externally accessible reservoir for resupplying or replenishing the liquid, such as water, for eventually distribution over the fire area. The liquid storage and distribution mechanism includes at least a first storage tank it communication with the externally accessible reservoir, and a liquid distribution manifold extending from the storage tank(s) to below the airship. The manifold may consist of plural distribution arms featuring arrays of nozzles or cannon that may be selectively operated for the desired distribution pattern. To protect and insure the efficiency of the system hereof, various filters are incorporated into the mechanism to separate unwanted debris that may enter the liquid supply.
Accordingly, a feature of this invention is to provide a lighter-than-air airship system that includes a large liquid payload capacity to develop and maintain a man made or artificial rainfall over selected areas of need, such as a forest fire.
Another feature hereof is the provision of a means to provide refilling of the liquid payload while the airship system remains continuously in flight, thus providing an endless supply of liquid, i.e. water to a selected fire area.
A further feature of the invention is a means to alternately fill the payload when the airship system is either tethered to the ground, or hovering or moving above a water supply, i.e. lake or pond, such that upon release the system will be immediately available for its intended activity.
These and other features of the invention will become more apparent from the specification and drawings which follow.